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Mentor (comics)
Encyclopedia
Mentor is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe
.
Imperium's Imperial Guard
and was created by Chris Claremont
and Dave Cockrum
.
The character subsequently appears in The Uncanny X-Men
#157 (May 1982), ROM Annual #4 (1985), X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers #2 (June 1990), Uncanny X-Men #275 (April 1991), Quasar
#32 (March 1992), Imperial Guard #1-3 (January -March 1997), Inhumans
Vol. 4 #4 (September 2000), JLA/Avengers
#1 (September 2003), Uncanny X-Men #477 (October 2006), #479-480 (December 2006-January 2007), #485-486 (June–July 2007), and X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #4-5 (February–March 2008).
He is also involved in the War of Kings
storyline and the writers Dan Abnett
and Andy Lanning
have described their take on the character: "We want to show Mentor as being terrifyingly able, and one of the most dangerous and capable members of the Imperial Guard. His astonishing brainpower is enhanced (in military terms) by sheer, analytical ruthlessness".
Mentor appeared as part of the "Imperial Guard" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition
#6.
Imperial Guard
, an army of powerful beings that enforce Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy and serve the rulers of the Shi'ar Empire. Mentor was among the first of the Guard to clash with the X-Men
and Starjammers
as they fought to free Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani
from her brother, D'Ken
and Davan Shakari
. Mentor swore his allegiance to Lilandra after D'Ken's defeat.
Unlike many of his fellow guardsmen, he remained steadfast in his loyalty to Empress Lilandra during the attempted coup of the Shi'ar throne by her sister Deathbird
, which pitted X-Factor
and Excalibur
against the Guard once again.
Mentor was one of the Imperial Guard members stationed on Earth for a time.
In the battle between the Imperial Guard and Vulcan, he acted as a tactical advisor to Gladiator on Vulcan's weakness, and oversaw the temporary neutralization of his powers, establishing him as one of the survivors of the battle that proved otherwise disastrous for the Guard.
Mentor serves as Praetor of the Imperial Guard after Gladiator becomes the new Shi'ar Majestor.
team Legion of Super-Heroes
. (Dave Cockrum
, co-creator of the Guard, also had a long run as artist on the Legion). Mentor is based on LSH member Brainiac 5
.
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
.
Publication history
Mentor first appeared in [Uncanny] X-Men #107-109 (October 1977-February 1978) as a member of the Shi'arShi'ar
The Shi'ar are a fictional species of aliens in the Marvel Comics universe. The Shi'ar Empire also called the Aerie, is a vast collection of alien species, cultures and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires, and alongside them, is one of the three main alien empires...
Imperium's Imperial Guard
Imperial Guard (comics)
The Imperial Guard is a team of fictional super-powered alien warriors in the Marvel Comics universe. The Imperial Guard serves the rulers of the Shi'ar Empire, both by enforcing Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy and as the Emperor or Empress's personal guard...
and was created by Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and Dave Cockrum
Dave Cockrum
David Emmett Cockrum was an American comic book artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus...
.
The character subsequently appears in The Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
#157 (May 1982), ROM Annual #4 (1985), X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers #2 (June 1990), Uncanny X-Men #275 (April 1991), Quasar
Quasar (comics)
Quasar is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the . He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions...
#32 (March 1992), Imperial Guard #1-3 (January -March 1997), Inhumans
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
Vol. 4 #4 (September 2000), JLA/Avengers
JLA/Avengers
JLA/Avengers is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to May 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, with art by George Pérez...
#1 (September 2003), Uncanny X-Men #477 (October 2006), #479-480 (December 2006-January 2007), #485-486 (June–July 2007), and X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #4-5 (February–March 2008).
He is also involved in the War of Kings
War of Kings
"War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six issue limited series was published between March and August, 2009....
storyline and the writers Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
and Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
have described their take on the character: "We want to show Mentor as being terrifyingly able, and one of the most dangerous and capable members of the Imperial Guard. His astonishing brainpower is enhanced (in military terms) by sheer, analytical ruthlessness".
Mentor appeared as part of the "Imperial Guard" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
#6.
Fictional character biography
Mentor is a long-time member of the Shi'arShi'ar
The Shi'ar are a fictional species of aliens in the Marvel Comics universe. The Shi'ar Empire also called the Aerie, is a vast collection of alien species, cultures and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires, and alongside them, is one of the three main alien empires...
Imperial Guard
Imperial Guard (comics)
The Imperial Guard is a team of fictional super-powered alien warriors in the Marvel Comics universe. The Imperial Guard serves the rulers of the Shi'ar Empire, both by enforcing Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy and as the Emperor or Empress's personal guard...
, an army of powerful beings that enforce Shi'ar Imperial law on all planets within the Shi'ar Galaxy and serve the rulers of the Shi'ar Empire. Mentor was among the first of the Guard to clash with the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
and Starjammers
Starjammers
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates from the pages of the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 and were created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum...
as they fought to free Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani
Lilandra Neramani
Lilandra Neramani is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. She is the Empress of the Shi'ar Empire and shares a lifelong bond with the leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier. She and Xavier were married but their marriage was annulled after the Cassandra Nova incident. She first...
from her brother, D'Ken
D'Ken
D'Ken Neramani is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is best known for being the evil brother to both Lilandra and Cal'syee , two important characters in the X-Men franchise.-Publication history:...
and Davan Shakari
Erik the Red (comics)
Erik the Red is a fictional cover identity in the Marvel Universe which has been used by three characters: Scott Summers , Davan Shakari, a Shi'ar agent, and Erik Magnus Lehnsherr...
. Mentor swore his allegiance to Lilandra after D'Ken's defeat.
Unlike many of his fellow guardsmen, he remained steadfast in his loyalty to Empress Lilandra during the attempted coup of the Shi'ar throne by her sister Deathbird
Deathbird
Deathbird is a fictional character. She is a Marvel Comics supervillainess, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, she first appeared in Ms. Marvel #9....
, which pitted X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
and Excalibur
Excalibur (comics)
Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
against the Guard once again.
Mentor was one of the Imperial Guard members stationed on Earth for a time.
In the battle between the Imperial Guard and Vulcan, he acted as a tactical advisor to Gladiator on Vulcan's weakness, and oversaw the temporary neutralization of his powers, establishing him as one of the survivors of the battle that proved otherwise disastrous for the Guard.
Mentor serves as Praetor of the Imperial Guard after Gladiator becomes the new Shi'ar Majestor.
Inspiration
Several of the members of the Imperial Guard are at least partly based on members of the DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
team Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. (Dave Cockrum
Dave Cockrum
David Emmett Cockrum was an American comic book artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus...
, co-creator of the Guard, also had a long run as artist on the Legion). Mentor is based on LSH member Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5
Brainiac 5 is a fictional character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is a long standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 is from the planet Colu...
.
Age of Apocalypse
Mentor made an appearance with the Imperial Guard in Gambit and the X-Ternals #2 (April 1995).External links
- Mentor (alien) At the Marvel Universe
- Mentor (Imperial Guard) at the Marvel Database Project